Amateur golf in the United States is governed by the United States Golf Association. The USGA is comprised of the national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities of golf in the U.S. and Mexico. The primary responsibility of the USGA is to interpret the rules of golf.
One of the tournaments, among many, that is organized by the USGA is the U.S. Amateur Championship which is held at various prominent courses throughout the United States. Winning a U.S. Amateur Championship is the epitome of amateur golf in America. Most winner’s of the Amateur Championship go on to join the regular PGA tour. Some have done exceedingly well like Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods while other’s have quickly faded from view.
Being on the PGA tour is much different than playing amateur golf, the environment is much different. As a PGA tour member you play weekly, against some of the best golfers in the world which creates intense pressure. The tour also requires adequate sponsorship to afford the high costs of travel and entry fees.
If you are not doing well on the “money list” sponsorship can be very hard to aquire. A couple of top 10 finishes can make all the difference to a newcomer on tour. It can catapult them to the kind of prominence that will bring notice from corporate sponsors. Corporate sponsorship could mean the difference between continuing or quitting the PGA tour.
Many very talented amateur golfers have the ability to play on the PGA tour but do not have the resources to do so. It is
very unfortunate in some cases because I feel that new faces on tour make the game much more interesting. Tiger Woods is a very good example. He won the U.S. Amateur Championship at a very early age and immediately joined the PGA tour
to break every conceivable record. He is approaching the all time record for major championship wins presently held by Jack Nicklaus.
Playing amateur golf for Tiger was the stepping stone to the regular tour and I’m sure he wouldn’t disagree that he owes some of his success on tour to his U.S. Amateur victory.
